Column: Always (Dec.

7-13, 2008 issue)

Why does God delay?
(“See how the Virgin waits for Him…..”)
by
Erwin Joey E. Cabilan

Christmas Midnight Sale is every where! Take note, they call it “Christmas” within the Advent
Season. Many people are rushing to the malls to buy goods. Yes, everybody has the right on how we
can spend our respective 13th month pay and Christmas bonuses. But, whose Christmas are we
preparing? Whose “coming” are we waiting? Is it ours?

We are so excited for Christmas! But, how excited are we for His Second Coming? I think
many Christians find it strange to talk about Jesus Christ’s Parousia because they interpret it as
“parusa” (in English, the “punishment”). This understanding is due to our literal understanding on
Christ’s Second Coming which is presented by Biblical authors using the apocalyptic genre. Thus, this
“mystery of our faith” is associated with catastrophes, both man-made and natural. No wonder why
there are some people in the Church who have the struggle to sing Advent songs especially our very
own Ayaw Paglangan, Gino-o.

Advent Season makes us more aware that liberation can never be guaranteed by our own
endeavors and by acquiring goods that can gratify our whims and desires. This season invites us to
humbly admit that, though we can place all the good desires into our very hands, it is God who can
only save us. We may have the best solutions to solve our problems. But God has the best vision. If
God knows how miserable we are, how we are struggling in journeying in this “valley of tears”, how
we need Him so much, why does He delay? Our own history is a witness of the series of Advents that
we have gone through. But why does God delay?

Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, O.P. in the book which he edited, Just One Year, sheds light to this
qualm in these words, “One reason why our God takes so much time is because He is not a god. Our
God is not a powerful, celestial superman, from the outside. The coming of God is not like the cavalry
galloping to our rescue. God comes from within, in our deepest interiority. He is, as St. Augustine
said, closer to us than we are to ourselves.” God comes not from afar but from within; not as a
superhero but as a gentle force and not just for one person but for all. He is the God with a human
face. He can never be a stranger from suffering. He is Emmanuel!

The Virgin Mary is God’s gift to us so that we can wait for Him, even if it takes much time. Let
me highlight three key points in the Annunciation account that are related to our spirituality of waiting.

1. Virginity as waiting. Most people who are into BF-GF relationship don’t have the patience to
wait for their wedding day. Virginity is not just a state of life; it is a virtue that upholds one’s
dignity as a person. In the Bible, a “virgin” symbolizes sacredness because God has intervened
in the life of the person by choosing him/her. A “virgin” is possessed by God. Mary was
chosen by God. She personifies a people who longed to see His saving power. Mary’s empty
space was filled by God’s grace. Her being a virgin, her integrity of life, is the very space in
which she has become the channel by which grace flows to humanity. Mary is “full of grace”
for she is “full of Jesus”. Let’s create a space where God can be born.
2. Praying as waiting. In order to see God who comes from our deepest interiority, we need to be
contemplatives. Contemplation is loving more rather than knowing more. It is to actively
discern and wait for what God has for us. In the Annunciation, Mary was fully aware of God’s
presence. She was conversing with God. She was distressed, confused and even objected. Mary,
as a contemplative, had a healthy imagination by asking this question, “How can God do this
to me?” Mary’s love for God was so great for she sought His will. When she found it, Mary
was generous in giving her “YES” to God. This “YES” made way for God’s Word to become
flesh in the person of Jesus. Solitude is never an escape from life’s misery. It is a way so that
God’s presence can be relished. God’s coming is not something to be afraid of. What we need
is trust.
3. Active Participation as waiting. In this season of Advent, we are encouraged, again and again,
to live our being disciples of Jesus according to the realities of life that we have: as Filipinos, as
laborers, as parents, as students, as teachers, as entrepreneurs, etc. What we have is our
cooperation to make God’s presence be experienced. Kathleen Coyle defines Mary’s divine
 motherhood as her cooperation to God’s plan of salvation in which compassion for the whole
humanity becomes flesh in the world. Waiting is active. We prepare. We watch. We share.
We can only lend our voice to the voiceless if we know how to listen to their angst and pains.
Solidarity is welcoming God to our own dwelling place. There are neither strangers nor
competitors. Just you and I are walking humbly with the Lord.

The Immaculate Conception is celebrated within Advent. It reminds us that God’s coming is
not about when, where and how. It is love. When the Lord Jesus comes, He draws us to Himself.
When we look at Mary, she is teaching us the truth: we can only see God’s face through her Son.
Whose Christmas are we preparing? Whose “coming” are we waiting? “See how the Virgin waits for
Him……”

O Mary, conceived without original sin, pray for us and with us!